JACKSONVILLE, Fla. (March 5, 2026) – The University of North Alabama women's basketball team's postseason came to an end Thursday night in a 67-56 setback vs. Central Arkansas in the Atlantic Sun Conference Tournament Quarterfinals in Jacksonville, Fla.

The No. 6 Lions complete the season with a 17-14 record while 11-7 in ASUN play. The No. 3 Sugar Bears (21-10) advanced to the semifinals to face No. 2 Jacksonville (22-8) on Saturday, March 7 at 1:30 p.m. ET in VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena.

UNA came out firing on all cylinders vs. the Sugar Bears, putting on an offensive display for the early advantage. The Lions shot 47.1 percent from the field and took a 20-14 lead after the first 10 minutes.

Central Arkansas led the second-quarter scoring, 19-17, but the Lions still maintained its advantage with a 37-33 lead. Junior Katie Criswell proved the spark plug on offense with 14 early points on 6-12 shooting (50 percent) while 2-3 from three (66.7 percent).

The two teams continued to battle in the third with the Sugar Bears able to take a six-point lead through the media timeout. UNA closed out the quarter strong, however, to make it a 48-46 UCA lead heading to the final period.

North Alabama's fight would fall short in the fourth quarter, with Central Arkansas closing out the game outscoring the Lions, 19-10.

Three double-digit scorers led the way for UNA in Criswell, sophomore Sofia Ceppellotti and senior India Howard. Criswell's 16 points was the team lead followed by 14 from Ceppellotti. Howard left it all on the floor in her final collegiate game with 10 points and team-leading 11 rebounds for a double-double.

Senior and Second-Team All-ASUN selection Alexsandra Alvarado had eight points and tied her career high with eight assists. Criswell totaled the lone steal for UNA while Howard and Criswell registered a block each.

Year two under Head Coach Candi Whitaker comes to a close but not without achieving many accolades on the year. The Lions improved their win total by three games from 2024-25 and secured their first winning season since the 2019-20 season. The 17 wins on the year also marked the most since 2019-20. The final victory of the year saw UNA defeat Queens in the ASUN Tournament First Round, marking the program's first postseason win since March 7, 2020.

For more information on North Alabama Athletics, visit www.roarlions.com and follow UNA Athletics on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.